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Acererak
This page may be a Stub or not include some information. For a full article on the topic with citations, please see ' ' at Greyhawkonline.com. Acererak was a powerful wizard who became a lich, and later a demilich. Allies and Enemies Acererak is the son and ally of the balor Tarnhem, a worshipper of Orcus, and an apprentice of Vecna. In life, he was the enemy of a paladin of Pelor named Pentivel, and the wizard-architect who designs his tomb is called Morghadam. He is revered by a group of wizards known as the Covenenticle of Acererak. The necromancers of Skull City, former followers of Acererak, go on to form a group known as the Votaries of Vecna, making a new home in the Black Spire on the Plane of Shadow. The githyanki necromancer Kastya Zurith-Movya seeks to return the true Acererak to existence as an ally against his people's lich-queen. Home The Tomb of Horrors is long Acererak's home in undeath. As a demilich, he moves to the demiplane of Moil to complete his grand plans. There is a shrine of Acererak, in the form of a five-foot statue of a humanoid skull, on the second layer of Pandemonium. History Acererak the Devourer is described as a cambion, the result of an ancient conjurer summoning a demon, a balor named Tarnhem, far beyond his ability to control. Tarnhem devours the conjurer and takes his human mother by force. Acererak's mother survives her son's birth, but she is killed by a torch-wielding mob ten years later. The boy is rescued by none other than Vecna, the Whispered One, who kills the advisors urging him to kill the child; instead, he takes on the half-demon as an apprentice. Even then, ten-year-old Acererak loathes life, looking forward to becoming undead like his master. During Vecna's siege of Fleeth, the lich is severely wounded and rescued by Acererak. Vecna subsequently promotes the cambion. It is unknown if Acererak is present when Vecna is betrayed by Kas the Bloody-Handed in the fourth century before the Common Year, but at some point, he moves to the Vast Swamp where he constructs a lair for himself, colloquially known as the Tomb of Horrors (and described in an adventure module of the same name). While still alive, Acererak builds a subterranean temple complex in the name of Orcus, burying its architect and all of its workers within. Eventually, Acererak succumbs to the lure of lichcraft, and has himself buried in a labyrinthine tomb, where he commits himself to his studies and, eventually, demilichdom, abandoning his body for the planes beyond. Many adventurers over the years attempt to raid Acererak's tomb, but it is believed that none are able to destroy him, despite some claims.2 The sequel module Return to the Tomb of Horrors retconned and expanded on the setting. At some point, a group of necromancers settle the area outside the tomb, creating a community of sorts known as Skull City. Acererak's tomb is revealed to be a mere antechamber to the demilich's true dwelling, the lost city of Moil on the border of the Negative Energy Plane, where he had spent thousands of years working on a process to fuse his essence with the plane and gain control over all undead throughout the multiverse.3 According to the 3rd edition Tome of Magic, Acererak, following his destruction by adventurers completing the Tomb of Horrors, passes on to become a vestige - an ineffable, amoral entity which can be summoned and bound by characters known as Binders. Acererak grants his summoner lich-like powers, including immunity to cold and the ability to speak with the dead.7 According to the adventure "Prisoner of the Castle Perilous," Acererak created a simulacrum in the Negative Energy Plane to torment Saint Pentivel, an old foe from his mortal life. This simulacrum eventually transforms itself into a complete being through the aid of an artifact known as the Soul Machine.8 In 4th edition D&D, Acererak appears in the book Open Grave: Secrets of the Undead as a member of the Undead Hall of Infamy.9 He also features in a sidequest in the adventure Revenge of the Giants and in the 4th edition remake of Tomb of Horrors as central antagonist. In 5th edition D&D, he becomes the primary antagonist of the Tomb of Annihilation ''campaign, which takes place in the Forgotten Realms setting. In it, he uses an artifact of his own creation called the ''Soulmonger ''to feed souls to an atropal - a stillborn godling that was cast into the Negative Energy Plane, causing it to rise as undead. The ''Soulmonger ''caused something called a "death curse". Those who have died but have been since resurrected begin to rot, while those who die after the artifact's activation do not pass on to the afterlife, but are instead drawn into it. Interestingly, he appears in his normal lich form in the campaign. He also appears in his demilich state in a 5th edition remake of ''Tomb of Horrors ''in the supplement ''Tales from the Yawning Portal, once again serving as its central antagonist''.'' Appendix External Links * Category:Needs image